Don't worry, it's all just an act.
The Bureau goes to Singapore to meet Michelle Zuria, a lawyer that, according to X, has valuable information regarding SOMBRA's "The Next Level". Unfortunately, Carmen and the player barely manage to speak with her before she receives a call from one of her clients, claiming that he has found his girlfriend, finance company CEO Constance Tan, stabbed to death inside of an observation wheel cabin.
Tropes:
- Amoral Attorney: You find a recording of the victim accusing Michelle of being one, claiming that she'd defend anyone for money and thus wanted her away from Anbu. She turns out to be right when you discover she was part of SOMBRA in Case 36.
- Be as Unhelpful as Possible: Despite X saying that Michelle would give you useful information about SOMBRA, Michelle claims to know nothing about it and instead purposefully hinders your investigation by getting in your way of interrogating Anbu.Carmen: I agree, we won't get those answers from Ms Zuria, our would-be SOMBRA consultant... She'll just deny everything again! For all we know, she's the SOMBRA agent here!
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Anbu claims that his relationship with Constance started a little rough due to they working on competing companies, but along butting heads also came love.
- Big Damn Heroes: Jonah manages to save Elliot from Anbu's clutches by shooting him in the hand without hurting Elliot any further.
- Blackmail: Brian Chua, the pool boy from the hotel the victim often visited, once saw her kissing Ruby, and Constance offered him money in exchange of keeping quiet. However, since he didn't earn a lot, he continued pressuring her for money, and she refused to pay him more when she broke up with Ruby. Obviously, this makes Brian a strong suspect in Carmen's eyes.
- Brick Joke: Before meeting Michelle, Carmen says she hopes Michelle won't shout "Objection!" at you. Later, she does exactly that while you interrogate her client Anbu.
- Closet Gay: Ruby and the victim were girlfriends, but Constance didn't want to make their relationship public and eventually broke up with her to be with Anbu.Ruby: I don't dress formally. I'm nerdy. I love durian and smell like it too often... And I'm a girl so Constance wanted to hide our relationship. I guess she got tired of me and secrets.
- Death by Despair: Anbu Devanesan, the victim's boyfriend, "attempts" to jump off a building due to having lost the will to live after Constance's death.
- Distressed Dude: Elliot spends the entire Additional Investigation kidnapped by Anbu, and so you're tasked with rescuing him before it's too late.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: After you rescue Elliot, he claims to be entirely fine despite Carmen and Marina telling him it's okay to feel bad after being kidnapped and almost killed by SOMBRA.
- Drowning My Sorrows: During Anbu's second interrogation, he tells you he's drowning his sorrows with Singapore Sling.
- Exact Eavesdropping: Elliot pretended to be unconscious just as Anbu was requesting a ship to escape from Singapore to Indonesia, giving you a lead about where to go next.
- Fiery Redhead: Downplayed. Ruby is shown to have some temperament when she tells you her girlfriend decided to leave her due to being a Closet Gay, but most of the time is quite chill whenever you speak to her.
- Foreshadowing: During your investigation, you find a recording of Constance calling Michelle an Amoral Attorney who would defend anyone for money, and Michelle herself tells you that her clients are rather "special". Come Case 36, and you find out they were talking about SOMBRA.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Darren Hong, the victim's second-in-command, claims he worked hard to become the CEO of the company but Constance just came along and "stole" the job from him, which is why he scribbled her name from a "Best CEO" trophy and put his instead.
- He Knows Too Much: After Constance discovered Anbu was doing "something shady" regarding his company and stumbled onto the word "SOMBRA", Anbu murdered her to keep the secret intact.
- Humans Are Bastards: Michelle implies this when she tells you, no matter what people say, Constance was bound to have enemies due to being in a position of power.Carmen: That's a cynical view, Ms. Zuria! What makes you say that?Michelle: Knowledge of human nature.
- Human Shield: Anbu evades being arrested by taking Elliot hostage and threatening to shoot him if you try to stop him from fleeing. Thankfully, Jonah's weaponry expertise allows him to save Elliot before Anbu can kill him.
- Implausible Deniability: Sanjay claims he wasn't planning on stealing Lars' wallet after Carmen finds it inside his pockets.
- Instant Death Stab: According to Angela, the victim died almost instantly after being stabbed due to the blade hitting the aorta.
- Interrupted Suicide: Anbu attempts to jump off a building due to not wanting to live anymore after his girlfriend's death, but Carmen and the player manage to talk him out of it. Later Subverted, though, as we discover he was just faking it to gain sympathy.
- Kill the Ones You Love: During Anbu's arrest, he claims he truly loved Constance, but his loyalty to SOMBRA made it irrelevant and he killed her anyway.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Despite being a Fiery Redhead with a degree in volcanology, Ruby Armstrong is shown to be quite feminine and nerdy, and she also was Constance's ex-girlfriend.
- Never Say "Die": When you find a tie with Elliot's blood on it and Lars analyses it, Carmen interrupts him right before he suggests Elliot could be dead.
- Only a Flesh Wound: Jack gets shot in the shoulder by Anbu after he tries to stop him from taking Elliot away, but apart from some discomfort he's ready to go after putting a band around it. Later, Anbu also gets non-fatally shot by Jonah.
- Parents as People: As expected, Carmen is having some trouble learning how to raise Sanjay due to never having any biological children before.Carmen: <Player's Name>, sorry I sat out your case in Thailand. Apparently, adopting a kid is a lot of work. There were accommodations and tutors to arrange and... things.
- The Rival: Anbu and Constance were enemies due to both of them working on different companies that were business competitors, but fell in love after butting heads for some time.
- She Will Come for Me: After you rescue Elliot, he tells the Bureau he was never scared because he knew the player would come and save him.
- Shout-Out:
- Michelle, who is a lawyer, shouts "Objection!" whenever you do something she disapproves.
- An iPad appears in the Observation Cabin scene, and an old iPhone model is in the Private Cabin scene, referencing Apple.
- Similarly, an Android phone appears in the Poolside Tables scene.
- In the Garden Bridge scene, there is a bag of chips resembling Lays.
- Sticky Fingers: Sanjay steals Lars' wallet during an analysis, prompting Carmen to scold and order him to return it.
- Undying Loyalty: Anbu towards SOMBRA, as you learn during his trial.Anbu: Cooperate with the Court? Are you stupid? I killed Constance, a woman I genuinely liked, just because she happened to hear the word "SOMBRA" in connection with me.You want me to answer for my crimes, fine. I plead guilty. I murdered Constance. I took your clever colleague hostage. But I'm not giving you no information on SOMBRA, whatever you do!
- Unwitting Test Subject: Among Anbu's files, you find proof that SOMBRA has been conducting human experimentation on their subjects that survived the Deadly Game back in Japan, with Thanid, the previous case's victim, being one of the many on that list.
- White-Collar Crime: Anbu had been using his company to launder money for SOMBRA and use it to fund their "next level" program, and had to kill Constance after she found about it.
- Would Hurt a Child: Anbu is willing to shoot Elliot if you try to arrest him, and when you rescue Elliot, he's full of bruises and with a bloody nose.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Anbu is the one who reports the crime, cries like a waterfall during all his interrogations, appears to be Drowning His Sorrows, and even attempts to commit suicide over his girlfriend's death. Of course, all of this turns out to be a facade when he's revealed to be the killer.
